Category Archives: Goals

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I don’t wanna do goals this year you guys. Partly because I’m lazy, partly because horses are as unpredictable as the weather, and partly because not having goals last year was nice. Yeah, I skipped riding a lot, but I also started to go to the gym, and spent a lot of time with friends and family. 2017 was more tumultuous than I’ve let sneak through to the blog for a lot of personal reasons that some of you are already aware of, so keeping things chill was a good move on my part.

So this a list of things that I’d like to see happen in 2018, in no particular order other than how my brain tosses them onto “paper.”

WEG. Yep. Something about New Years put me in this weird frame of mind where I’m SO EXCITED for WEG. Maybe its that Joey looks like a yak right now and the idea of showing him makes me realize how far we have to go…but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m stir crazy and want to get out of town and the only trip that is actually booked, not theorized, is WEG. Plus it’s WEG, so there’s plenty to get excited about all on it’s own.

Other travel. I’m hoping to drag Jason to Florida to the beach at some point this year, leaning towards May the week after he graduates from nursing school so that we can squeeze a quick vacay in before he gets a job and doesn’t want to ask off for a while. Other than WEG and shows, this is all the travel we have talked about for 2018 at this point, but I’m always open to traveling if I have someone to keep an eye on the herd and pups.

I miss this place.

Showing. You know its getting real when showing is one my goals interests. There are two tentatively planned for Joey right now; the Mid-Atlantic Paint Classic in April and the VPHC Color Classic Futurity in October, which is the same show we took him to last year. Both of these are at the VA Horse Center, which is nice. The April show is less likely to happen than the October show because of weather and my lack of access to an indoor with footing. I’m not sure he’ll be ready for in hand trail and lungeline by the first weekend in April. It’s a lot to ask with no more than I’ve been asking of him lately. Then there is the matter of his yak haircoat and that he seems to be perpetually dramatically hip high… Depending on finances and what K wants to do, we may pick up a summer APHA show in Tennessee or North Carolina if we miss the spring show. If we end up hitting a dressage show to try western dressage out, that’d be cool too.

Paige adventures. This is a very loose statement because I’m truly able to go and do anything with Paige without fear of dying. Obviously we aren’t going to pick up jumping, but if a mounted shooting, western dressage, cow work, etc. clinic were to pop up nearby within budget I’d be game to try it if I had a ride. I anticipate more trail rides like this year with K and company. K has even offered to start ponying Joey on short rides to get him used to the concept. I don’t have the nerves to do it, but she’s ponied many a baby on her gelding, so I feel good about it if she does. Either way, enjoying the wonderful, quiet saint of a horse that Paigey is will be high on the agenda this year.

Another one of these is always welcome.

Breed Paige. This is kind of a sub point of the Paige adventures I suppose. haha. But Paige is scheduled to be bred back to Hollywood Reminic in May for an April 2019 baby. I don’t need a fifth horse, but the opportunity for a Joey full sibling is too good to pass up and I’ve had several people express interest in purchasing Joey, so depending on how attached I get, I may sell the baby. Though the odds of me keeping it are high. This time around I’m likely going to vaccinate Paige to the hilt and continue to do things off the farm with her, just not in large settings with tons of horses. I feel like taking her to small clinics should be safe? I’m willing to listen to the opinions of others on this. The only negative thing about her pregnancy with Joey was that I refused to take her off the property and risk the pregnancy. I think I need to give her a little more credit for durability?

She’s the bomb.com of horse moms so why not?

Reduce my herd. I know what you’re thinking…”wait what, crazy lady, you just said you’re breeding Paige again.” Yeah, I know. But I had a revelation out in my pasture the other day. I may or may not have been chasing a couple of my own horses that decided to pretend to be feral. I like easy. Why do I have horses who aren’t easy? Or horses who don’t even TRY to be easy. I need to give myself a reality check on not hoarding horses who don’t suit me. I’ll be down to four horses after next week, then I’m probably going to put Copper up for sale this spring/summer once I have him with a trainer who can show him to people. I’ll post more on that once I can work up the nerve. I’m not desperate to sell Copper, but he’s still young enough and talented enough to accomplish things with the right person. He will always be welcome back here, as will Highness, but it just makes more sense to put them where they will be used.

Paige and Robin have a home with me for life. Paige because she’s awesome and Robin because she’s 16 and has a myriad of quirks induced by growing up with me that I wouldn’t subject anyone else to. Plus she’s really one of the last ties I have to my childhood. And, for what I expect out of her (being caught in a huge field, deworming, standing for the vet and farrier, etc.) she fits the easy category.

Baby Donkeys. These will be born in May/June. Russell was already gelded before I found out that he knocked up both Chloe and Emma, but I’m double glad I went ahead and did that now that I know I will soon have a mini donkey herd of six. That’s a lot of long eared little pets…there might be some mini donkeys up for sale…

Make Joey easy. I want Joey to be around for the long haul and be everything I’ve tried to will Copper to be. I want him to be my main mount in my 30’s and 40’s. He is his mother’s (Paige’s not mine if that was as ambiguous to you guys reading as it was to me when writing…lolz) retirement plan after all. He doesn’t push me often, but I need to remember to push him back now while he’s malleable and looking for that authority figure. I want to get him trained correctly from the start and not have to fill in holes in his training or worry about the behavioral problems that can spawn from being raised by an adult ammy.

Continued healthy living/weight loss. I need to stick with my the routine I established earlier this year and stay on the weight loss bandwagon. I feel so much better when I’ve worked out and am eating healthier, and I’ve been enjoying the rewards of these decisions when I see and feel the changes in my body. The program I did last summer only accepts return students every two years, but I’m going to apply anyway and see if I can get in again. The worst they can tell me is no. If the answer is no, I need to stay motivated to work on my fitness without the program like I’m trying to currently. I did scrounge up something like before and after pictures. The before pictures are poor quality screen grabs from a video my mom took of me teaching Joey how to lead. Better than nothing? haha

30 lbs down, 40 lbs to go!

Projects. As usual there are house and farm projects that I want to get done, but the threat of imminent domain only grows with each passing year. I’m currently holding up the county board of supervisors because they want permission to enter my property to begin surveying and doing studies for the road that will be the destruction of my farm. I haven’t given them permission to enter the farm so they’re now sending certified letters to remind me that they sent me a letter as if I have merely forgotten… So there are some farm and house projects that will hopefully happen this year, but the verdict is out on what they’ll be. I’m really wanting to rip up the carpet in our bedroom for starters…

So that’s it for 2018. A pretty good sized list for someone who isn’t setting goals the bar very high.

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Hi, I’m Sarah and I own a farm in rural SWVA where I board a couple horses and keep my small (but growing) herd. I use this space to chronicle my life with my four legged friends, both equine and canine and am glad to have you tune in! :)

Recent Posts

Paige is my most reliable mount. She is a 18 year old American Quarter horse. She is the mother of my APHA colt by Hollywood Reminic and the reason I still enjoy horses.

Joey is a 2017 dunskin gelding by Hollywood Reminic and out of my AQHA mare, Paige. I am very lucky to have this little guy to bring along and I look forward to the journey. He continues to exceed my expectations in both personality and ability.

Copper is an 11 year old Appaloosa who is remarkably versatile, but is unfortunately out of work for the foreseeable future due to lameness. We fought Lyme disease in 2016/2017 and in spring of 2018 he was diagnosed with navicular syndrome in both front feet.

Robin is a 16 year old breeding stock Paint mare that has been my big pet since she was a weanling and I was 12. If you’re asking who really owns the farm? It’s this mare. ;)

Emma, Chloe, Russell, and Poppy are the barn clowns. These mini donkeys have more personality than ears, if you can believe that. Poppy is Chloe and Russell’s 2017 baby.

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